The Pearl Company

Defining Moments in Development – Presentation and discussion with Dr. Susan Smith, Saturday, March 22. 10:30 am until 12 noon. No Charge. Presented by The Pearl Company, Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, and the OPIRG McMaster Guatemalan Solidarity Working Group. Dr. Susan Smith is the Founder and Director of Atzin in Mexico. While development work has taken her across the globe, Susan Smith is the founder and director of Atzin Community Development, a non-profit working collaboratively with the Indigenous community of Tlamacazapa, Guerrero, Mexico for the past 17 years.  Atzin is a Nahuatl word meaning ‘Sacred Waters’. Susan was chosen as the University of Calgary’s top alumnus in 2008; and CBC The National produced “Walking Together” in 2006 as special report on her work in Tlamacazapa. For more info:  shelley.opirg@gmail.com

Pearl Review Launch: Saturday, January 14. Open House! The Pearl Review Quarterly Lifts off from the Loft on Saturday beginning @ 8:00pm.  A packed first issue of 76 pages for $2.95.  Compelling, inquiring diverse opinions, Photo Essays and Stories.  Join the party; purchase a copy; become a Patron subscriber.  Special patron subscriber packages include Art Bus Certificates, discounts on Pearl Company events and Pearl District products, and a free Gary Santucci CD. (If you are already a subscriber, come by and get your copy and your package!)  Food and refreshments available.

Vinx in Concert: Saturday, May 8 at 8:00pm $20 at the door. DJ and Host Michael Williams and The Pearl Company present the much-anticipated return visit of Vinx to Hamilton! Opening Artist: Queen Cee and her band:  Queen Cee is a potent Hamilton singer-songwriter who can provide solace and peace from a crazy world with her warm voice and conscious message. Her musical stylings are that of smooth R&B/Soul with a Hip Hop edge. Not only does she pack a voice and positive energy that she wants to share with the world, she is out there making a difference in her community with social initiatives such as When Sistahs Get Together and the Be-you-tiful Girls Club. www.myspace.com/queenceemusic
Queen Cee video :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9feYe-qbr0M

Vinx is/has been a Percussionist/ Vocalist with Sting, Bonnie Raitt, Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder.  “For any who does not know his music, take heart. Your life is about to improve. Perhaps you have never heard creativity so beautifully arranged, or imagined that the human voice could be bass, saxophone and trumpet in the same mouth. Listen and receive the gift.  As he takes the mike, he begins to record layers of harmony….  All praise the power of spontaneous creation fueled by the love of an audience.”  “He sings lead with or without drum! When in the mood, he will capture his own lead vocals in order to sing harmony – fabulous! He is also a very entertaining and humorous stage presence!”

May 7: The Art Bus will start at the Lincoln Alexander Centre, head off to Gallery on the Bay, then a Locke Street Stroll including the transit gallery, Textures and more, and off to Dundas for the Carnegie Gallery, the Dundas Valley School of Art and the Oddfellows Hall of Galleries and Studios.  Finishing back at The Pearl Co.

May 14: This second Friday we will be experimenting with an Ottawa Street Ramble (Earls Court Gallery, Under the Moon and more…) and the James North Crawl, finishing up with the Tiger Group Studio Gallery.

Starting at 6:30 from The Pearl Company at 16 Steven Street and King William.
Please reserve a spot beforehand via email or phone, and purchase your trip ($15.00) when you arrive.
Finishing up at The Pearl for an après-tour wind-down which includes a tour of the building often with music whether from Gary Santucci or whatever event is happening on the theatre floor.

Invitation: The Hungarian Visual Artists of Canada – Opening Reception: Sunday, May 9 from 1 pm – 4 pm.  You are cordially invited to the first fine art exhibition in Hamilton Ontario for this vibrant group. Paintings, sculptures, photography, woodcarvings and enamels.  The show will be on display from Friday April 30 to Tuesday June 1, 2010.

The association consists of a group of artists who have joined together to promote their work, interest and participation in contemporary visual arts, to encourage each other and to hold exhibitions in Canada and abroad. Their members include painters, sculptors and photographers who work in various media.  They believe that art builds bridges between people, generations and nationalities; it serves as a common denominator among economic groups. Art opens people’s minds to new possibilities, provides a foundation for shared experience.

Wednesday Night Showcase: April 21, 8:00pm, $15 at the door. The Wednesday Night Showcase is a venue for talented singer songwriters in Hamilton and surrounding areas. Hamilton is a hotbed of talent that has a hard time highlighting their works; The Pearl Company is happy to provide the opportunity to turn up the volume and let these artists show what they can do. We are hoping to help develop new talent and to have more established musicians work with them while displaying their own talents. Some of the showcased artists will be headlined at the Pearl Company in a future date. Whether you are jazz, rock, folk, blues or whatever, contact John Crawford or Mike Dufour through the Pearl Company and they will see about getting you on a show.   The showcase will start as a once-a-month feature.  Our first Wednesday Night Showcase will feature: Pip Kummel, Michel Leon, Shawn Brush (aka The Krooked Cowboy), John Crawford & Troy Harmer. Support local talent!

Tia McGraff: Saturday, April 24 at 8:00. $20 at the door. With a special guest appearance from Six Nations Musicians, Sakoieta Wildrick and Tewentahawiht Dawn Antone.
Writing and recording since the age of 19, Tia McGraff’s uplifting, heart-warming songs have been garnering her strong fan acclaim from the start. The Port Dover native headed to Nashville, where she and Tommy Parham quickly became a musical force to be reckoned with. Writing, performing and producing, they have captured the attention and respect of artists, producers and industry insiders.
“Tia McGraff is a fantastic singer with her own vocal personality which reminds me of an early Linda Ronstadt. She is a very intuitive songwriter who knows what a song needs to make it tick. A joy to work with.” – Randy Bachman
” I have seldom run into someone with a gift that needs to be heard as much as Tia. She colors outside the lines, and stands outside of the circle of tuned perfection. Tia McGraff is real and is really needed in today’s marketplace of music.” – Devon O’Day   www.TiaMcGraff.com

Jazz Connection Big Band: Friday, April 23.  Doors at 8:30, jazz at 9:00 $15 at the door: Made up of talented musicians from all over southwestern Ontario, The Jazz Connection Big Band is a 20-piece band dedicated to playing great, straight-ahead jazz.  The JCBB are gaining a bigger audience every time they play here and have put together a spectacular new program.  Carrying us once again into the cool space of surround sound big band music! http://www.jazzconnection.ca

The Budos Band: Friday, April 2nd, Doors open 9pm. Showtime: 10pm.  Advance Tickets: $25 available at Dr. Disc in Hamilton. http://www.drdisc.ca With it’s twenty-two legs, three horns, and hallucinogenic venom, The Budos Band, the un-heralded emperors of Instrumental Staten Island Afro-Soul, continue to rule. The band commands their listeners to follow them on their second journey into the depths of their vision. While their debut album was itself heralded as a groundbreaking exploration of funk, afro-beat and soul music, few could predict that their second effort would not only match but surpass the realm of mind-expansion embodied on their first sessions. Through ten exciting new instrumentals recorded live at Daptone’s House of Soul in Bushwick, Brookyln, The Budos Band pours themes at once resonant and ethereal over Herculean rhythms. www.thebudos.com

Jazz Connection Big Band: Friday, March 26.  Doors at 7:30, jazz at 8:00 $15 at the door: Made up of talented musicians from all over southwestern Ontario, The Jazz Connection Big Band is a 20-piece band dedicated to playing great, straight-ahead jazz.  The JCBB are gaining a bigger audience every time they play here and have put together a spectacular new program.  Carrying us once again into the cool space of surround sound big band music! http://www.jazzconnection.ca

Italian Film Night: Monday, January 25, 7:00 p.m. $10 at the door. Cinema Insieme presents “THE LAST KISS” “L’ultimo bacio” directed by Gabriele Muccino. Film is in Italian with English subtitles. The Last Kiss (2001) focuses on relationships in today’s society, from the 29 year-olds who fear commitment and responsibility, to the 50 year-olds who fear aging. With its multiple storylines and some amazing performances, the film creates a vivid and colourful fresco of modern Italian life.

Mary M. Cushnie-Mansour: Sunday, January 31 at 2:00. Mary will be launching two new poetry books “Shattered”  and “Memories”. She will be reading selections from them as well as from her collection of short stories. “From the Heart”, which was released in May 2009.  Mary is a freelance creative writer who was born in Stoney Creek.  She now resides in Brantford.

Lisbie Rae of Village Theatre Waterdown sends this note: “I’m organizing a flashmob event in Hamilton and invite you to join our action as we demand a strong climate change agreement. It’s one of hundreds of rallies taking place on Monday, September 21st all across the world. A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, and then quickly disperse. Ours is a Global Wake Up Call to Climate Change. Individuals will make their own way to the King and James entrance to Jackson Square, mingling with the shoppers and workers, trying to disappear into the crowd. They will set their cell phone alarms (or any alarm or noisemaker) for 12:18.” For more info and to RSVP go the Avaaz website link for this event

Gary Santucci is participating in his first visual arts presentation at youme gallery, 330 James Street North, in August. It’s part of the James North Arts Crawl on Friday August 14.
Titled “The Hood, the Bad, and the Ugly: Contemplating the Gritty Core of our City”, (another subtitle is “Not a Pretty Site”), Gary’s portion of  the show includes surveillance video, still photography, and digital photo loops of the area around The Pearl Company. Also in the exhibition are works by four photographers, including Jim Chambers and Cees van Gemerden.

“Discover what can happen when we have courage to do, and lead by example.”

Hamilton Arts & Heritage from Elizabeth Konca on Vimeo.

The video Hamilton Arts and Heritage by Elizabeth Kronca was prepared for the Hamilton Economic Summit, facilitated by the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Jobs Prosperity Collaborative and the City of Hamilton. (more…)